tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2005 Issue 8

Reader Questions: Don't Get Burned With Simple Burn Coding

Question: A patient came in with first- and second-degree burns on her hand. The surgeon cleaned and dressed the burn but didn't perform debridement. Should I bill 16000 and 16020?Rhode Island Subscriber Answer: You should only report 16020 (Dressings and/or debridement, initial or subsequent; without anesthesia, office or hospital, small) in this case.A burn usually involves more severe tissue damage in the center - the second-degree burn - and radiates out with less severe burning on the outer edges - the first-degree burn. The more complicated treatment of the second-degree burn (16020) would include the adjacent simpler...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.


Leverage vital, to-the-point monthly guidance to boost your reporting accuracy and your coding know-how. We make it convenient for your team to stay informed, compliant, and profitable with a subscription to TCI’s General Surgery Coding Alert.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 1999 organized by year and issue
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
  • tci General Surgery Coding Alert +Archives

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.